The experience of the various crises that the EU has had to face in recent years requires the implementation of major political initiatives to rekindle European integration. Initiatives in all fields: from the competitiveness of the European economy to the redefinition of the European welfare state, from European identity to common security and defense policy, from addressing the democratic deficit to revising the institutional system of the Union. However, such major initiatives can only be undertaken by the member states, each of which is preoccupied with pressing national political, economic, and social needs and priorities, electoral contests, and strong eurosceptic or nationalist tendencies.

This is the fundamental contradiction of Europe. However, this can also be its great advantage, as it leads to the adoption of flexible and innovative methods that ensure the prospect of European integration based on the long historical time.